What’s a Hipster?

An Easy Guide to Spotting These Trend-Hating Young Trendsetters

The definition of “hipster” showed up on the slang site Urban Dictionary seven years ago, describing city-dwelling 20- and 30-somethings who had a certain aesthetic sensibility that embraced new culture while shunning mainstream societal conventions. Which means they are always on the lookout for obscure bands, which they abandon once they get popular and famous. For those of us unwilling to travel to urban hipster havens such as Brooklyn, Portland (Oregon and Maine) and San Francisco to answer the “What is a hipster?” question, my 20-something daughter, Veronica Dunkelberger, staff illustrator Rebecca Sumerall and designer Saige Roberts have created this handy visual reference.

• Many hipster chicks favor straight-across-the-forehead bangs. Think Zooey Deschanel in “New Girl.” Others will shave half their head — but never their legs and underarms.
• Personal grooming is kept to a minimum so as not to buy into the Beauty Culture.
• They prefer their T-shirts to be ironic.
• Some early-to-the-party hipsters are now coupling up and starting families. No Williams and Marys for this crowd; nonconformist names favored by the hipster set include Lennon, Roman, Enoch and Auden for boys and Briseida, Liora, Odette and Tessie for girls.
• Girls have nose-ring septum piercings. Men carry satchels. Both stretch out their ear lobes with gauges.
• You’ll hear a lot of “vocal fry,” a kind of whiny, high-pitched voice. Again, think Zooey D.
• Favorite hangouts include coffee shops, bars, music scenes and anything called “Whiskey Wednesday.”
• Polaroid cameras are de rigueur. Although they will take digital pictures of those Polaroids to post as their Facebook profile.

• Nothing hurts a hipster more than having a favorite band hit the big time. Disappointments include Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend and Wilco.
• Many male hipsters sport facial hair — everything from waxed handlebar moustaches to bushy beards.
• Pabst Blue Ribbon is the drink of choice. Or whiskey. Straight up.
• Bicycles are old-school, single-gear models. Music is on vinyl records.
• The gents often sport 19th-century accessories such as suspenders and bowler hats.
• Accepted accessories include scarves, Warby Parker glasses, canvas sneakers and hats — usually beanies or fedoras.
• Hipsters’ eschewing of the conventional and artificial leads many to wear worn and torn clothes from secondhand stores, unless it’s from American Apparel or Anthropologie and just looks that way. A popular website shows photos of individuals, asking viewers to decide if they are “Hipster or Homeless?”
• No deodorant. Body odor is natural.
• Hipsters have tattoos. Favored motifs include Shel Silverstein drawings, the cover of “The Catcher in the Rye” and Kurt Vonnegut quotes, which you will often find inked on the calf.
• The hipster smokes American Spirit cigarettes — while insisting on organic food.